Reclining chair



May 1, 1945. A. WOHLK ,8

RECLINING CHAIR Filed Feb. 16, 1944 INVENTOR. 4462- /V0//AK Patented May1, 1945 UNITED :STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 f i 2,374,848

RECLINING-CHAIR Aage Wohlk, Great Neck, N. Y. Application February 16,1944,.Serial N 0. 522,551

, 3 Claims.

This invention relates to chairs and particularly tothose of the typeknown as reclini chairs, in which the seat slides forwardly and the backtilts rearwardly, an exampleof which is shown in my Patent No.2,143,098, dated Janu ary10 .19 39.

The object of the present invention is to provide a chair of thecharacter mentioned, in which the back is capable of being moved tovarious degrees of inclination with respect to the seat solely bymovements of the body of the seated person. The invention contemplatesthe provision of a means by which inclination of the back, accompaniedby a forward shift of the seat, is accomplished by the operation ofconcealed mechanism so disposed and located that it is concealed by theupholstery of the chair. 3 An object also of the invention is to provida greatly simplified back-tilting and seat-shifting mechanism whereinrelatively few operating parts are required, thus not'only greatlysimplifying the construction of the parts of the chair, but reducing theassembly work.

A feature of the invention resides in means by which the back of thechair is detachably connected to the seat whereby assembly of the chairis greatly facilitated due to the ease with which the back may beremoved when desired.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an embodiment of the invention isdisclosed, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the chair, withthe seat and back of the chair in the normal position; Fig. 2 is asimilar view, with the seat slightly slid forward, and the backinclined; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through the seat andadjacent parts of the chair; Fig. 4 is a face view of the slot in whichone of the guide pins for the chair back is moved during inclination ofthe back; Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4, lookingin the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing oneof the hinge connections between the chair seat and back; and Fig. '7 isa sectional view on the line 11 of Fig. 6, looking in the direction ofthe arrows.

With reference to the structure shown in the drawing, I indicates thechair, which may be of any suitable design. The chair has a fixed seatframe composed of a front piece 2, rear piece 3 and the side bars 4 and5. At the corners of the fixed and rigid seat frame thus constructed,are the vertical posts 8 and I connected at the top by the arms 8.

Mounted for sliding movement on top of the fixed seat frame, is themovable seat frame having'side members 9,a front member HI and a rearmember I I The movable seat frame is provided with rollers l2 ridingingrooves l3 co'nstituting guide-ways in the top of the side bars 4- and 5of the'fixed frame. whereby the movable seat frame slides easilybackward and forwardly on top of the fixed frame. Instead of therollers. l2, any suitable means may be employed to en-- able slidinmovement of the movable seat frame on the fixed frame to be facilitated.

The movable seat is normally held in a retracted position, or in'theposition shown in Fig 1, by means of the coil springs M'which areattached atone end to the front member I of the sliding seat frame,andfatthe other end are secured to the rear member 3 of the fixed seatframe.

Each of the side members 9-of the movable seat frame is provided with aspring shoe l rigidly secured to or forming a part of a plate portion l6attached to the side or edge of the member 9 by the screws Ilia. Eachshoe is positio'ned to resiliently bear against the edge of one of theside bars 4 and 5 andthus frictionally )5 act to retard the slidingmovement of the seat and serve to counteract the pulling effect of thecoil springs l4. Thus, when a person is seated on the seat and slidesthe seat forwardly, his weight, coupled with the frictional action ofthe shoes on the side bars 4 and 5 will serve to maintain the seat inthe forward position in which it has been moved by the occupant, therebyalso inclining the back, as shown in Fig.- 2, until the occupant arisesfrom the scat, whereupon the seat will smoothly return to its retractedposition shown in Fig. 1, under the influence of the springs I l. Thespring shoes l5 also serve to take up side play or looseness and holdthe movable seat against lateral movement or chatter.

At 1 I is shown the back of the chair, and which consists of a suitablyupholstered frame including side bars I8. At its lower end, the back ishingedly attached to the rear portion of the sliding seat frame by meansof hinges l9. hinge l9 has a leaf 20, secured by the screws 2! to thesliding seat frame. The second leaf 2| of each hinge fits within asleeve or enclosure 22 attached to the side bars l8 of the back, as

shown in Figs, 6 and 7. In other words, the leaf 2! is slidable withinone of the sleeves 22, so that by simple manual raising movement, theback of the chair may be at once separated from its hinged connection tothe seat.

By the hinged connection of the back to the sliding seat, the back willtend to tilt rearwardly Each as the seat is slid forwardly, as shown inFig. 2,

the back being guided in such tilting movement -by pins 23 projectinglaterally from the side edges of the back, and moving up and down inguideways 24 arranged on the innersides of the rear posts 6 of the chairframe. Each of these guideways includes a slotted frame 25, reinforcingthe guide-way slot 24, the guide-ways being each provided at the topwith a lateral outlet 26 through which theguide pins 23-may be moved bymanual lifting movement of the chair back} I In Fig. 1 of the drawingthe chair is in its normal position, at which time the seat is fullyretracted and the back is in its most nearly vertical position. Toassume a reclining position,'a person seated on the chair slides theseat, for wardly by exerting back pressure on the back of the chair. Asthe seat moves forwardly, the hinged connection of the same with theback, causes the back to swing on the pins 23 in the guide-ways, causingthe back to tilt rearwardl'y, as shown in Fig. 2. As the back tilts,the. guide pins 23 move downwardly in the guide-ways 24 to the extentrequired." As pressureon the back is released, the seat will sliderearwardly and the-back assumes its vertical or nearly verticalposition.

It will be observed that when'the back is in its normal. or most nearlyvertical position, the guide pins 23 are located below the outlets 26 ofthe guide-ways 24, so that in the normal use of the chair, the pins 23cannot possibly move out through these lateral outlets. However, when itis desired to detach the back from the seat for cleaning, upholsteringor other purposes, the seat i easily detached by being merely raisedslightly until the pins can be moved through the outlets 26. Due to thedetachable engagement of the leavesfZl of the hinges with the back ofthe chair,

this lifting movement of'the' back can be performed without interferenceby thehinges, and

' asv the lifting movement is continued the sleeves 22"are drawn fromover the hinge leaves 21 and the back thus completely freed from theseat.

Thus, through the connection described, attachment of the back totheseat, and. the detachment of the back is speedily and easilyperformed with out the use of tools.

While I have described one embodiment of my invention,-it is obviousthat the same is not to be restricted thereto as the structure may bemodified in many ways without departing from the spirit of theinvention,

What I claim is: f

1. A reclining chair having a fixedseat frame, a movable seat framemounted for backward and forward sliding movement on'the fixed frame, aback 'hingedly attached to the movable seat frame and adapted to assumea tilted position when the movable seat frame moves forwardly, springmeans for normally retracting the movable seat frame, and spring shoescarried by the movable seat frame and frictionally operative againstparts of the fixed frame for exerting limited frictional resistanceto-sliding movement of-the movable frame. g

2. In a reclining chair, a fixed seat frame, a movable seat frameslidable thereon, spring means for retracting the movable frame, thefixed frame having side rails, the slidable frame having downwardlydependentsupports carrying spring shoes operative against the side railsof the fixedframe and exerting limited frictional resistance thereon tosliding movement ofthe movable frame.

3. In a reclining chair, a fixed seat frame, a movable seat frameresting on the fixed frame and slidable backwardly and forwardlythereon, spring means for retracting the movable frame, the fixed framehaving spaced side bars, the movable frame having similar side barsdisposed over those on the fixed frame, the slidable frame having springshoes carried by its side bars and located within the 'fixed frame andfrictionally operative against the side bars on the fixed frame toresist sliding movement of the movable frame.

' AAGE WOHLK.

